In a well known conventional technique (see JP2000-224608A), an image obtained by photographing an object is divided into a plurality of areas, color information is obtained from each area, a light source type is determined on the basis of the color information obtained from each area and a color distribution corresponding to a light source, and white balance adjustment is performed in accordance with the light source type.
In another well known technique (see JP2001-28762A), an image area having a small object distance is extracted from a photographed image on the basis of information relating to a distance from a camera to the object, and a controlled variable for use in white balance adjustment is calculated on the basis of an imaging signal relating to the extracted image area.